Bring credit cards, not nostalgia, to Burma

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The poorest farmers in Africa are more advanced than the Burmese. Let the Coca-Cola consumerism begin

In a dusty pavilion near Rangoon’s airport live three white elephants. When they were discovered, in a jungle close to the Thai border, Burma’s generals had them rushed here and put on display, since their species — an albino variant really — is thought to presage prosperity and good fortune. Although not for the elephants.

Tethered by an ankle all day so that tourists can get a decent photo, they stand forlorn yet stoic. Beautiful, unique and fettered in their lonely enclosure, they seem almost too-perfect symbols of their country.